JPH0480053A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an always stabilized image output by a method wherein a carrier which carries charged powder, and a control electrode which is provided near below the carrier and is equipped with an opening part are installed, and an exciting mechanism is provided to the control electrode. CONSTITUTION:A plus(+) charged toner T is borne on a brush roller 3. Excess toner T is scratched off with a layer thickness control component 11, and a uniform toner layer is formed on the brush roller 3. Then, the brush roller 3 is scratched with a scratch component 10 and when the brush returns to an original state, the toner T comes to be of a cloud state to be supplied to an aperture electrode 9. The aperture electrode 9 herein is composed of an aperture 5, an insulation layer 6, a reference electrode layer 7, and many control electrode layers 8. Further, an exciting means 20 is arranges on a surface of the reference electrode layer 7. The exciting means 20 is composed of a piezoelectric material and a conductor 22 supplying electric power to the piezoelectric material 21. In order to annex suitable vibration to the aperture electrode 9, a plurality of exciting means are arranged on a surface of the control electrode.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records images by directly controlling toner flow.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, colored powder particles such as toner particles are uniformly charged and then controlled by an electric field using a control electrode with an aperture electrode and a back electrode placed behind a support to output an image. Accordingly, an image recording device has been proposed.

An example of this type of device is US Patent Specification No. 0, for example.

It has been reported as 3689935.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when recording was performed using the above-mentioned image recording apparatus, a problem occurred in that the opening electrode portion was clogged with toner. For example, when trying to obtain a recording density of 240DPI, the dot size is at most 1
Therefore, the inner diameter of the aperture electrode in the control electrode had to be very small, about 50 μm, and toner with an average particle size of about 10 μm could get clogged in the aperture electrode due to environmental changes or dust. .

As a countermeasure to this problem, attempts have been made to apply a voltage of opposite polarity to the toner to the control electrode and to perform cleaning using a brush-like carrier roller, but these efforts have not been able to achieve sufficient effects.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording device that can prevent clogging of the aperture electrode portion and always obtain stable image output.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the image recording apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, it is composed of a carrier, a control electrode, and a back electrode. The carrying roller is
Supports charged powder. The control electrode is provided below and close to the carrier and has an opening. The back electrode faces the control electrode with a support in between. In particular, it is characterized in that it includes a mechanism for vibrating the control electrode.

[Operations] The present invention having the above configuration has the following effects. That is, in the past, toner adhered to the vicinity of the open electrode portion due to environmental fluctuations, dust, etc., resulting in clogging. However, since the electrode surface is constantly vibrating and exerting mechanical action, toner does not adhere to the electrode surface. Moreover, even if toner adheres, it is easily removed. Therefore, it is possible to always obtain stable image output.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is embodied in a toner jet recording device will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a toner sheet recording device 19 is comprised of a recording section 1 and a heat fixing section 2. As shown in FIG. An insertion port 17 and an ejection port 18 are provided on the side of the toner jet recording device 19 .

In the recording section 1, images and the like are recorded on a medium P such as plain paper inserted through the insertion slot 17. Then, in the heat fixing section 2, the image on this medium is fixed. Further, the medium P is sent to the ejection port 18 via the guide 15.

The recording unit 1 includes a rotatable brush roller 3, an aperture electrode 9, and a counter electrode 12. Around the brush roller 3, a supply roller 4, a layer thickness regulating member 11, and a scraping member 1 are arranged according to the rotating direction of the brush roller 3.
0, respectively, are provided in contact with the brush roller 3. The brush roller 3 is connected to ground. Furthermore, the supply roller 4 is covered by a toner case K. Toner T is stored inside this toner case.

Above the brush roller 3, the aperture electrode 9 is provided. Here, explanation will be given with reference to FIG.

The aperture electrode 9 is composed of a large number of apertures 5, an insulating layer 6, a reference electrode layer 7, and a large number of control electrode layers 8. The apertures 5 are opened in the insulating layer 6 and arranged in the - column. Further, the reference electrode layer 7 is provided on the brush roller 3 side of the insulating layer 6.

Further, the control electrode layer 8 is independently provided on the upper surface of the insulating layer 6 and around the aperture 5. The reference electrode layer 7 is connected to a negative (-) DC power source E2, and the plurality of control electrode layers 8 are respectively connected to a plurality of signal sources S.

Furthermore, a vibrating means 20 is arranged on the surface of the reference electrode layer 7. The vibration means 20 is composed of a piezoelectric body 21 and a conductive wire 22 that supplies power to the piezoelectric body 21. The piezoelectric body 21 may be a piezoelectric ceramic material such as PZT, or may be a polymeric piezoelectric material such as polyvinylidene fluoride. A plurality of the vibration excitation means 20 are arranged on the surface of the control electrode in order to apply appropriate vibration to the aperture electrode 9.

Further, on the opposite side of the brush roller 3 with the aperture electrode 9 in between, the counter electrode 12 is provided with a certain space between the aperture electrode 9 and the brush roller 3 . The medium P that enters through the insertion port 17 and is sent via the guide 15 and the pair of auxiliary rollers 16 passes through this space. This counter electrode 12 is connected to a power source E2 (minus (-)).

By applying this voltage, the toner T that has passed through the aperture 5 of the aperture electrode 9 is moved and adsorbed onto the medium P.

The heat fixing section 2 includes a heat roller 13 having a heat source and a press roller 14. The heat roller 13 and the press roller 14 are arranged so that the medium P can pass between them.

Next, the operation of the toner jet recording apparatus of this embodiment will be explained using the same figure. The medium P inserted through the insertion port 17 is conveyed to the recording section 1 . In the recording section 1, the toner T is supplied to the brush roller 3 by the supply roller 4. At this time, the toner T rubs against the supply roller 4 and the brush roller 3 while being in contact with the supply roller 4 and the brush roller 3, and is charged, for example, positively (+). Toner T charged positively (+)
is carried on the brush roller 3. Then, the layer thickness regulating member 11 scrapes off the toner T supplied to the brush roller 3 in excess.

As a result, a uniform toner layer is formed on the brush roller roller 3.

Then, near the aperture electrode 9, the brush roller 3 is scratched by the scratching member 10. When the brush returns to its original position due to its elasticity, an appropriate amount of toner T carried on the brush jumps up. As a result, toner T becomes
It is supplied to the aperture electrode 9 in the form of a cloud.

The cloud of toner T charged positively (+) is attracted to the reference electrode layer 7 connected to the negative (-) power source E1. Then, by the voltage applied from the signal source S to the control electrode layer 8 of the aperture electrode 9, the toner T
The flow is modulated.

At this time, a current is flowing through the piezoelectric body 21 disposed on the control electrode 8. The piezoelectric body 21 starts vibrating. The vibration is then propagated onto the reference electrode 7, and a surface wave is generated on the reference electrode 7. Therefore, even if the toner T approaches the reference electrode layer 7, it will not come into close contact with it. That is, in the past, toner T was attracted and deposited on the reference electrode surface 7 due to the mirror image force on the reference electrode 7 . However, even if the toner T is attracted by electrostatic induction due to the vibration, the toner T does not come into close contact with the toner T. Since the toner T remains floating even though it does not approach the surface of the reference electrode 7, it does not accumulate. As a result, troubles caused by the accumulation of toner T near the control electrode 7 and aperture 5 can be prevented.

The toner T is always stably supplied from the aperture electrode 9. The toner flow is modulated by the signal source S at the aperture electrode 9 and recorded on the medium P.

That is, the negative (=) power supply E connected to the counter electrode
2, the positively (+) charged toner T is modulated by
flies toward the counter electrode. This toner T is then attracted to the medium P guided by the kite 15 and the pair of auxiliary rollers 16 .

Thereafter, the medium P is conveyed to the heat fixing section 2.

Then, at this location, the image on the medium P is fixed by being brought into pressure contact with the heat roller 13 and the press roller 14. Since this fixing method is a boat fishing method, a detailed explanation will be omitted. Finally, the medium P on which the image has been formed is conveyed to the take-out port 18 via the guide 15, and then taken out.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,
Changes may be made without departing from the spirit. That is, the gist of the present invention is to prevent toner adhesion by vibrating the aperture electrode. In this embodiment, the excitation means is arranged on the reference electrode side, but it may be arranged on the back side, that is, on the control electrode side. Also,
In the present invention, a piezoelectric body or mechanical vibration means may be used. Furthermore, the excitation time may be continuous,
Further, vibration may be applied during non-printing time.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the detailed description above, the present invention has the following effects. That is, in the past, toner adhered to the vicinity of the open electrode portion due to environmental changes or dust, resulting in clogging. However, in the present invention, the electrode surface is constantly vibrating and exerting a mechanical action, so that toner does not adhere to the electrode surface. Moreover, if toner adheres, it is quickly removed. Therefore, it is possible to always obtain stable image output.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 2 show embodiments embodying the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a toner jet recording device, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an aperture electrode provided in a toner jet recording device. It is a diagram. In the figure, 1 is a recording section, 2 is a heat fixing section, 3 is a brush roller,
4 is a supply roller, 5 is an aperture, 6 is an insulating layer, 7 is a reference electrode layer, 8 is a control electrode layer, 9 is an aperture electrode, 10
a scraping member, 11 a layer thickness regulating member, 12 a counter electrode, 1
3 is a heat roller, 14 is a press roller, 15 is a guide, 16 is an auxiliary roller, 17 is an insertion port, 18 is a take-out port, 19 is an exterior, 20 is an excitation means, 21 is a piezoelectric body, 22 is a conducting wire, T is Toner, P is medium, K is toner case, El
, E2 is a power supply, and S is a signal source.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A carrier supporting charged powder, a control electrode provided close to the bottom of the carrier and having an opening, and a support serving as an image receptor for the control electrode. An image recording device comprising back electrodes facing each other with a control electrode in between, the image recording device comprising: a control electrode vibrating mechanism;